I  just wanted to remind you that there is a special auction starting in 10 days for land only property. It will be a great chance to pick up a home lot or a weekend or summer retreat piece of property. Parcels are available in most states. Don’t miss your chance to buy at such a low price. Email me today for details.

 At first glance it would seem the number of homes available are shrinking. When I first started investigating this auction, there were typically 4-5 thousand homes available at any given time. So 2776 would appear to be a lot less. However, originally, the auctions were only held every 3-4 months. If you missed an auction date, you would have to wait a few months for the next one. Now, there are multiple auctions every single month. So in comparison, there is actually over 9000 properties available every 90 days. Double what it was a year ago.

While the continuing of this trend has defiantly created its share of hardships for communities struggling with the loss of tax revenue, and the cost these vacant properties bring, there is an opportunity for individuals, as well as families, who otherwise were often priced out of owning a home, by previously inflated home prices. Buying a home from the auction has a multitude of benefits. First, you have just doubled your buying power. Homes typically sell for 50-60% of their previous value. If a buyer is only qualified to purchase a home for say $100,000.00, that buyer is very limited in what they will be able to find in that price range on the open listing market. But that same buyer, can attend a foreclosure auction, and now purchase a home that would be listed for sale for substantially more. Second, this allows a buyer to immediately have equity in a home.When you purchase a home so far below the market value, it comes with built in equity. 

Every auction is different, but I have seen just about every type of property available. Condo’s, Duplex’s, Townhouse’s, Single Family, In Town, Out of Town on Acreage, Really Old-to Brand New never been lived in. In fact, one auction had a whole subdivision of new homes.

Can you get financing on these Auction houses?  Linda M

Yes, on most. Some homes will be listed as cash only, no financing available, but the majority of the homes are able to be financed through the traditional channels of Residential Finance.

Are there ever any parcels of just land offered at the auction?   Tom D

Yes. Not as many as there are homes, but you can find acreage, as well as building lots available.

Can I have a home inspection done before I close on an auction house?   Dan D

No. All sales are as is. It is very important that you spend some real, quality time, in the home you want to bid on. Check it out throughly. You need to know what you are bidding on.

In the past, business owners with good credit and assets, usually had a relationship at their bank. They could count on being approved for a loan with little trouble. Now, these same business owners, go into those banks that they have done business with for years, and they find their loans being turned down.

Loan packaging companies are not new. They have however moved out of the shadows, and into the forefront of Commercial Financing. Believe it or not, there is money available for commercial enterprises. However now, instead of applying with your longtime banker, the best, most successful way to obtain a commercial loan, is to hire a company who specializes in packaging commercial loans.

These companies have relationships with lenders at the corporate level. They know how to write your business plan and put your documents into a bankable format. All keys to getting your loan approved.  In the current economical enviroment, it is almost impossible to obtain commercial financing without their help.

I get asked all the time, “Why can’t I just make an offer through the listing agent for these homes? Does It really pay to go to the Auction?” The answer is yes, you should go to the Auction., and here is why.

When these houses are listed as foreclosures, there is a specific department at the lender who has foreclosed on the home, which deals with all offers that come in. It is their job to try to recover the highest dollar amount they can from the sale of the home, and they are very limited on how much of a reduction they can accept. Once a home is committed to the Auction, a completely different department at the lender takes over. These homes have usually been vacant for a while, and it is the new departments job to get rid of these homes.

The home I purchased, had an offer made on it three weeks before the auction, for $330,000.00. The lender turned it down. Three weeks later, that same lender accepted $260,000.00 from me for the same house. The two different departments have very different goals, and that is why the best deals are at the Auction.